Kansas Mail Carrier Indicted After Nearly 400 Republican Campaign Mailers Found in Her Garage
A federal grand jury indicted a Kansas rural mail carrier on Election Day after investigators said they found more than 4,400 pieces of undelivered mail in her garage, including nearly 400 Republican campaign mailers.
Kelly R. Cram, 59, of Baxter Springs, is charged with one count of unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail, according to the indictment returned Tuesday in Wichita.
Cram worked as a rural route carrier out of the post office in Pittsburg. She had been a U.S. Postal Service employee since May 2009 until she was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 7.
That day, agents from the Postal Service Office of Inspector General visited her home and found approximately 4,404 pieces of mail, including about 394 political mailers, the indictment states.
All of those mailers related to Republican candidates or Republican-affiliated political action committees, according to the grand jury.
“The agents found no political mail related to candidates of any other political party or any political action committees affiliated with another political party at Cram’s residence,” the indictment says.
The indictment does not say when the alleged conduct began, describing it as starting on “a date unknown” and continuing through Oct. 7. It does not allege a motive.
The Kansas Reflector reported that Cram had a rural delivery route and that the Postal Service’s inspector general is investigating the case.
If convicted, Cram faces up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the penalty sheet attached to the indictment.
Her initial court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Wichita, The Wichita Eagle reported. An indictment is an accusation, and Cram is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Local station KWCH and Fox News also reported the charges, which were announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.
Second Postal Case This Election Cycle
The Kansas case follows charges in Utah, where a federal grand jury indicted former letter carrier Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, on Sept. 16.
Prosecutors allege Seei threw mail, including roughly 300 mail-in ballots for Utah’s June 23 primary, into a dumpster in a church parking lot in Eagle Mountain on June 3. He faces the same mail charge.
Kansas voters on Tuesday are choosing a senator and a governor. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton, and Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson faces Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher for governor.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Erb in the office of U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser, according to the indictment, which requests that any trial be held in Wichita.
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